Lasting Effects of Hurricane Andrew on a Working-Class Community
Publication: Natural Hazards Review
Volume 8, Issue 1
Abstract
Ten years after Hurricane Andrew, researchers returned to a multiethnic working-class community of homeowners first studied one year after the storm to investigate long-term impact on the community and its residents. Using both qualitative and quantitative data, this case study documents the recovery struggles of modest-income families who had tenuously achieved the American dream of home ownership. While most of the impacted region has recovered, this work highlights deep-seated continuing impacts on many households, as well as changes in the social landscape of the community. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew caused extensive damage to the housing, schools, and community infrastructure of South Miami Heights, Fla., and the first set of interviews (one year after the storm) revealed extensive problems, unrepaired homes, and suffering families. Ten years later a second round of in-depth, face-to-face interviews was completed with 32 of the same households, as well as with 10 key community informants to explore the circumstances and recovery level of homes, households, and the community at large. This case study is one of the few truly long-term examinations of a community after a disaster.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This study is part of a larger project with Walter Gillis Peacock and Hugh Gladwin studying the long-term effects of Hurricane Andrew on South Fla. funded by the National Science Foundation (CMS-0100155).
References
Averch, H., and Dluhy, M. J. (1997). “Crisis decision making and management.” Hurricane Andrew: Ethnicity, gender, and the sociology of disaster, W. G. Peacock, B. H. Morrow, and H. Gladwin, eds., Routledge, London, 75–91.
Bates, F. L., Fogleman, C., Parenton, V., Pittman, R., and Tracy, G. (1963). The social and psychological consequences of a natural disaster: A longitudinal study of Hurricane Audrey, National Research Council, Wash.
Berg, B. L. (1998). Qualitative research method for the social sciences, Allyn and Bacon, Boston.
Blaikie, P., Cannon, T., Davis, I., and Wisner, B. (1994). At risk: Natural hazards, peoples' vulnerability and disasters, Routledge, London.
Bolin, R. C. (1982). Long-term recovery from disaster, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, Colo.
Bolin, R. C. (1985). “Disasters and long term recovery policy: A focus on housing and families.” Sociol. Focus, 4(4), 709–715.
Bolin, R. C. (1993). Household and community recovery after earthquakes, Institute of Behavioral Science, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, Colo.
Bolin, R., and Stanford, L. (1998). The Northridge Earthquake: Vulnerability and disaster, Routledge, London.
Comerio, M. C. (1997). “Housing issues after disasters.” J. Contingen. Crisis Manage., 5(3), 166–178.
Erikson, K. T. (1976). Everything in its path: Destruction of community in the Buffalo Creek flood, Simon and Schuster, New York.
Erlandson, D. A., Harris, E. L., Skipper, B. L., and Allen, S. D. (1993). Doing naturalistic inquiry: A guide to methods, Sage, Newbury Park.
Geipel, R. (1982). Disaster and reconstruction, George Allen and Unwin, London.
Morrow, B. H. (1997). “Stretching the bonds: The families of Andrew.” Hurricane Andrew: Ethnicity, gender, and the sociology of disaster, W. G. Peacock, B. H. Morrow, and H. Gladwin, eds., Routledge, London.
Morrow, B. H. (2000). “Targeting households at risk for storms.” Storms, R. A. Pielke, Sr. and R. A. Pielke, Jr., eds., Routledge, London, 26–41.
Morrow, B. H., and Peacock, W. G. (1997). “Disasters and social change: Hurricane Andrew and the reshaping of Miami.” Hurricane Andrew: Ethnicity, gender, and the sociology of disaster, W. G. Peacock, B. H. Morrow, and H. Gladwin, eds., Routledge, London, 226–242.
Morrow-Jones, H. A., and Morrow-Jones, C. R. (1991). “Mobility due to natural disaster: Theoretical considerations and preliminary analyses.” Disasters, 15(2), 126–132.
Nesmith, S. A. (2005). “Flooding catastrophe unifies neighborhood.” The Miami Herald, August 27, ⟨http://www.herald.com⟩ (July 1, 2006).
Peacock, W. G., and Girard, C. (1997). “Ethnic and racial inequalities in hurricane damage and insurance settlements.” Hurricane Andrew: Ethnicity, gender, and the sociology of disaster, W. G. Peacock, B. H. Morrow, and H. Gladwin, eds., Routledge, London, 171–190.
Peacock, W. G., Morrow, B. H., and Gladwin, H. (1997). Hurricane Andrew: Ethnicity, gender, and the sociology of disaster, Int. Hurricane Research Center, Florida Int. Univ. Miami at Routledge, London.
Phillips, B. (2003). “Qualitative methods and disaster research.” Methods of disaster research, R. Stallings, ed., Int. Research Committee on Disasters, Xlibris, Philadelphia, 194–211.
Portes, A., and Stepick, A. (1993). City on the edge: The transformation of Miami, University of California Press, Berkeley, Calif.
Provenzo, E. F., Jr., and Fradd, S. H. (1995). Hurricane Andrew, the public schools and the rebuilding of community, State University of New York Press, Albany, N.Y.
Shaw, J. A., Applegate, B., Tanner, S., Perez, D., Rothe, E., Campo-Bowen, A. E., and Lahey, B. L. (1995). “Psychological effects of Hurricane Andrew on an elementary school population.” J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 34(9), 1185–1192.
Smith, S. K., and McCarty, C. (1996). “Demographic effects of natural disasters: A case study of Hurricane Andrew.” Demography, 33(2), 265–275.
Spradley, J. P. (1980). Participant observation, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, New York.
Vogel, J. M., and Vernberg, E. M. (1993). “Children’s psychological responses to disasters. Part l.” J. Clin. Child Psychol., 22(4), 464–484.
Webb, G. R., Tierney, K. J., and Dahlamer, J. M. (2002). “Predicting long-term business recovery from disaster: A comparison of the Loma Prieta Earthquake and Hurricane Andrew.” Environ. Haz., 4(2/3), 45–58.
Wright, J. D., Rossi, P. H., Wright, S. R., and Weber-Burdin, E. (1979). After the clean-up: Long-range effects of natural disasters, Sage, Beverly Hills, Calif.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Natural Hazards Review
Volume 8 • Issue 1 • February 2007
Pages: 13 - 21
Copyright
© 2007 ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 15, 2005
Accepted: Sep 18, 2006
Published online: Feb 1, 2007
Published in print: Feb 2007
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
